Safety catch for brooches and the like



July 15,1924. 1,501,845

.F. E: FARNHAM SAFETY CATCH FOR BROOCHES AND THE LIKE Filed Oct. '5 1923 V Fig. 5

INYENTUE M W W 9 W zi2$ .A'rrbz' may Patented July 15, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK EUGENE FARNHAM, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASS'IGNOR, TO' THE JEWELERS SUPPLY COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND,

A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

SAFETY CATCH FOR BROOCHES AND THE LIKE.

Application filed October 3, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK EUGENE Fann- HAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Safety Catches for Brooches and the like, of which the following is a specification.

In the usual construction of safety-catches for brooches and the like the parts-forming the safetycatch are necessarily small and usually delicate in construction.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction of a safety-catch for brooches and the like, whereby the safetycatch, although small, is extremely strong in construction, positive in its locking action and the catch as a whole greatly improved in construction and operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide, as a jewelers finding, a safety-catch with a reversible locking member, whereby with only the same two parts, keeper and locking member, either a right hand or a lefty hand safety-catch may be constructed.

A further object of my invention is to produce a two part only safety-catch for brooches and the like with the least possible number of operations, thereby reducing the cost of manufacturing to a minimum.

My invention consists in the peculiar and novel construction of a safety-catch for brooches and the like, said safety-catch having a reversible sickle shaped locking mem her and details of construction, as will be more fully set forth hereinafter and claimed.

Figure 1 is a catch end view of a brooch provided with my improved safety catch and showing the catch in the closed or locked position.

Figure 2 is an end view similar to Figure 1 showing the catch in the open position.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the safety-catch end of the brooch taken on line 3, 3 of Figure 1 with the catch closed and the pin tongue locked in they catch.

Figure t is a plan view of the blank from which the keeper part of the catch is formed and looking at theinner face of the blank.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through the keeper blank taken on line 5, 5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the partly Serial No. 666,386.

closed keeper with the movable fastening or locking member shown in broken lines.

F ignre 7 is a side view of the sickle shaped movable fastening or looking member, and

Figure 8 is an edge view of the movable fastening or looking member.

All of the figures in the drawing are greatly enlarged to more clearly show my invention.

I11 the drawing 9 indicates the body of a brooch or similar article of jewelry, 10 a pin tongue and 11 my improved safetycatch which consists essentially of a relatively stationary keeper 12 and a movable sickle shaped locking member 13. w

The keeper 12 is constructed as shown in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 and has a base 14 which is secured to the brooch 9, by solder. Extending from the base 14 are two U shaped arms 15, 15 formed by bending the keeper blank, as shown in Figures 1 and 5, centrally, as shown in Figure 6. Each arm 15 has a pin tongue opening 16 with a semi circular bottom 17 and an inner pintle bearing 18, in oppositely disposed relation, as shown in Figure 3. The pintle bearings 18, 18 are located centrally adjacent the bottoms 17 17 of the pin tongue openings 16, 16 and the U shaped arms 15, 15 are spaced apart the thickness of the locking member 13, thereby forming a space 19, for the locking member.

The locking member 13 is stamped out fiat and is sickle shaped, the blade of the sickle forming the locking part 20 of the locking member and the handle of the sickle forming the operating lever 21 0f the looking member and this operating lever 21 extends outwards from the keeper 12, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. On one side of the locking member 13 is a hinge pintle 22 which enters either one of the bearings 18, 18,.to form either a right or left hand safetycatch and with a bearing forms the hinge or pivot of the locking member.

lVhen in use on a brooch or the like, the pin tongue 10 is locked in the safety-catch by depressing the pointed end portion of the pin tongue 10 into the pin tongue openings 16, 16 and moving the operating lever 21 towards the back of the brooch 9. This brings the sickle shaped locking part 20 over the pin tongue, as shown in Figures 1 and 3. The pin tongue 10 is easily and quickly released from the safety-catch by moving the operating lever 21 away from the back of the brooch, as shown in Figure 2.

By this construction the pin tongue has a straight movement into and out of the safety-catch, no sidewise movement of the pin tongue required and the pin tongue is positively locked in the catch, any undue strain of the pin tongue on the sickle shaped locking part 20 ot' the locking member, tending to more firmly lock the pin tongue in the safety-catch.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new.

1. A safety-catch for brooches and the like, comprising a keeper having a base, spaced U shaped arms extending from the base, each having a pin tongue opening and an oppositely disposed pintle bearing, a sickle shaped locking member intermediate the U shaped arms, the blade of the sickle forming the locking part of the locking member and the handle of the sickle forming the operating lever of the locking memher and a pintle on one side of the locking member in a pintle bearing, whereby the locking member is pivot-1y secured to the keeper and either a right hand or a left hand operated safety-catch may be constructed from the keeper and locking member.

2. A safety-catch for brooches and the like, comprising a keeper having a base,.

spaced U shaped arms extending from the base, each having an oppositely disposed pin tongue opening and an oppositely disposed pintle bearing, a locking member intermediate the U shaped arms and having a sickle shaped locking part, an operating lever and a pintle on one side of the locking member in one of the pintle bearings, whereby the locking member is pivotly secured to the keeper and either a right hand or a left hand operated safety-catch may be constructed from the keeper and locking member.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this speclficatlon.

FRANK EUGENE FARNHAM. 

